Making the Bulkeley Bridge a city street

[Bill Mocarsky]

Bill:

Where would you FORCE Hoffmann Enterprises (Hoffman dealerships) and the others to move? Also, what would you do with the land? How about Staples -- want them to move, too?

Jim

If the Bulkeley Bridge was put back into the street grid, I would like to think Connecticut Boulevard could become Connecticut's premier Boulevard. . I haven't given a thought of where they would relocate. I just see that an effort to transform a street to a human scale and huge surface lots to be a potential conflict. If the sea of cars in Hoffman's could be concealed..........that would be counter productive to the business. Hasn't there been a trend of car dealerships locating in the suburbs?

Staples could probably adapt to the environment.

[blink55184]

Bill:

Where would you FORCE Hoffmann Enterprises (Hoffman dealerships) and the others to move? Also, what would you do with the land? How about Staples -- want them to move, too?

Jim

Jim-

You make alot of comments defending the businesses and farmers that would have to move.

Of all things, I think that is one of the more minor issues that would be involved in this. Some of the more major and difficult things(i.e. money) would post a bigger threat to the change.

Families, businesses, and farms have been moved for every road/highway and railroad to even be built.

[mikel]

mikel:

So you want I-84 to go across the Bissell Bridge to 91? Then what?? All of that (I-84) traffic will end up on I-91 and already, I-91 is bad. Truckers won't like that, because they'll be stuck in TRAFFIC. Putnam Bridge would be a bit easier, but still Rt 2 is a pain.

Jim

I'd like I-91 to be moved too, preferably east of the river, so it's not in downtown Hartford. That would be the ideal situation. At some point, I truely believe there will no longer be highways through downtown Hartford, and that would be a great thing. It's just pretty far down the road unfortunately.

[drc72]

I'd like I-91 to be moved too, preferably east of the river, so it's not in downtown Hartford. That would be the ideal situation. At some point, I truely believe there will no longer be highways through downtown Hartford, and that would be a great thing. It's just pretty far down the road unfortunately.

We will probably be long gone by the time that happens.

[Yankee.Peddler]

Unfortunately, I think I-84 has to remain on the Bulkley Bridge. In my view, the cost of moving the route onto a new alignment and the community opposition such a proposed move would engender outweighs any benefits of reuniting the Bulkley with the Hartford and East Hartford street systems.

With that said, I really like the thought of connecting Hartford and East Hartford streets with a bridge. Here's my idea -- one that could be ideally carried out in conjunction with "unearthing" the Park River between Hartford's Main Street and the Connecticut River.

First, with the Park River running above ground and the Whitehead Highway gone , reconfigure Arch and Sheldon Streets into two lane one-way arteries; Arch Street would be one-way westbound and Sheldon Street one-way eastbound. Add sloped landscaping (trees, shrubs, etc.) between the streets and the Park River.

Second, eliminate the current Exit 29A interchange on I-91.

Third, extend Arch and Sheldon Streets over the Connecticut River on twin two-lane ornamental suspension bridges (similar in scale to Frank Lloyd Wright's bridges in Pittsburgh) into East Hartford. The new roads would connect to East River Drive.

Finally, construct a new Exit 29A interchange on I-91 just north of the Colt Building. Similiar in layout to the current Exit 29A interchange but taking up less space, the new interchange would connect with Van Dyke and Charter Oak Avenues. Charter Oak Avenue would be widened (four-lane boulevard) and landscaped to serve as a new gateway into downtown Hartford with connections to Columbus Boulevard, Prospect Street, and Main Street.

While these bridges would not connect downtown Hartford and downtown East Hartford per se, I think they would further reinvigorate the Sheldon-Charter Oak and South Green neighborhoods in Hartford, and pump some much-needed juice into the Founders Park area of East Hartford (I would love to see more housing developed there). The bridges (and the Park River) could also become a landmark for out-of-town visitors since they would be located adjacent to the Convention Center and within easy walking distance of downtown.

[Bill Mocarsky]

Here's my idea -- one that could be ideally carried out in conjunction with "unearthing" the Park River between Hartford's Main Street and the Connecticut River.

First, with the Park River running above ground and the Whitehead Highway gone , reconfigure Arch and Sheldon Streets into two lane one-way arteries; Arch Street would be one-way westbound and Sheldon Street one-way eastbound. Add sloped landscaping (trees, shrubs, etc.) between the streets and the Park River.

Second, eliminate the current Exit 29A interchange on I-91.

Third, extend Arch and Sheldon Streets over the Connecticut River on twin two-lane ornamental suspension bridges (similar in scale to Frank Lloyd Wright's bridges in Pittsburgh) into East Hartford. The new roads would connect to East River Drive.

Finally, construct a new Exit 29A interchange on I-91 just north of the Colt Building. Similiar in layout to the current Exit 29A interchange but taking up less space, the new interchange would connect with Van Dyke and Charter Oak Avenues. Charter Oak Avenue would be widened (four-lane boulevard) and landscaped to serve as a new gateway into downtown Hartford with connections to Columbus Boulevard, Prospect Street, and Main Street.

While these bridges would not connect downtown Hartford and downtown East Hartford per se, I think they would further reinvigorate the Sheldon-Charter Oak and South Green neighborhoods in Hartford, and pump some much-needed juice into the Founders Park area of East Hartford (I would love to see more housing developed there). The bridges (and the Park River) could also become a landmark for out-of-town visitors since they would be located adjacent to the Convention Center and within easy walking distance of downtown.

That sounds like a nice idea. It makes me wish the library wasn't where it is.

[Bill Mocarsky]

Unfortunately, I think I-84 has to remain on the Bulkley Bridge. In my view, the cost of moving the route onto a new alignment and the community opposition such a proposed move would engender outweighs any benefits of reuniting the Bulkley with the Hartford and East Hartford street systems.

With that said, I really like the thought of connecting Hartford and East Hartford streets with a bridge.

One of my ideas was for a bridge between the Coltsville gateway (adjacent to Charter Oak Landing) and East River Drive (near the main entrance to Great River Park).

The "Coltsville Bridge" would be a gateway to Coltsville (and the southern part of downtown) from the east side of the river. Bus routes heading to east of the river would align Adriaen's Landing and Coltsville on the same circuit. The bridge will provide an alternative for those who come to the city via route 2.